Timing for the approval of a third booster dose of the Covid-19 vaccine for the over 65s is a "little bit of a surprise", according to a Professor of Immunology.
The recommendation was made by the National Immunisation Advisory Committee at the weekend and endorsed by the interim Chief Medical Officer Professor Breda Smyth and accepted by Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly.
Paul Moynagh, Professor of Immunology at Maynooth University, has said the development is "a little bit of a surprise" with respect to its timing. "We're just coming off a wave and I think the question is what are we trying to achieve now going for these repeated boosters?," Professor Moynagh said on RTE’s Morning Ireland. "Are we trying to stop waves?
We know for example with the present variant the RNA vaccines don’t work very well in terms of protecting us against infection and mild illness but it is very important to say that they do protect really well against serious illness. "Are we using the right vaccines?